Iceland Highlights?

We are considering a cruise including Iceland as well as the Norway Fjords. One cruise only does Norway for an 8 day cruise and the other is an 11 day cruise including two ports in Iceland. Both are about the same price. Any comments? Trish

We went to Iceland this past September and that country was the highlight of that trip. What beautiful and unusual country side. Blue Lagoon is a definite if

you go there. Plus the Golden Circle Tour is a must.

Have not done Norway yet, but am booked for a cruise that goes there in September 2013.

Mary

We are considering a cruise including Iceland as well as the Norway Fjords. One cruise only does Norway for an 8 day cruise and the other is an 11 day cruise including two ports in Iceland. Both are about the same price. Any comments? Trish

Same price? Is everything else equal? If so, always do the longer cruise...Iceland has some cool stuff--glaciers, geysers, waterfalls, volcanos...

I see the 8-nighter on Eclipse...Which ship is the 11 nighter on?

We're doing it THIS summer on Eclipse--for 14 nights! I'd feel cheated only doing 8 or 11...

We are considering a cruise including Iceland as well as the Norway Fjords. One cruise only does Norway for an 8 day cruise and the other is an 11 day cruise including two ports in Iceland. Both are about the same price. Any comments? Trish

Definitely do the longer cruise. Iceland is beautiful and the Blue Lagoon is a must see!

I'm definitely going to be the broken record and repeat what the others are saying. Definitely do Iceland and don't miss The Blue Lagoon. Depending on your time there, doing the Golden Circle is also a good option. Enjoy your cruise!!!!

Cathy

One more broken record, definitely the longer one, Iceland's supposed to be gorgeous, we're doing Celebrity's 14 nighter Iceland and fjords this July.

I'm another vote for the cruise that includes Iceland. The scenery is much different than you'd see in most locations. Be sure to take the Golden Circle tour - geysers, waterfalls, rift valley - definitely a must see in Iceland.

Same price? Is everything else equal? If so, always do the longer cruise...Iceland has some cool stuff--glaciers, geysers, waterfalls, volcanos...

 

I see the 8-nighter on Eclipse...Which ship is the 11 nighter on?

 

We're doing it THIS summer on Eclipse--for 14 nights! I'd feel cheated only doing 8 or 11...

The eleven nighter is on the Infinity sailing July 15, 2013 but it only does two ports in Norway. We are definitely thinking of switching to the 14 night Eclipse on August 3 but this itinerary does not include Flam or Kristiansand but instead stops at Olden and Alesund. Any coments re which ports are better from anyone? Still thinking about it but thanks to all our friendly folks on the boards saying Iceland is really underrated and a very interesting spot to visit. Could anyone who has sailed to Norway tell me if that is a very special port, or not really that bad to miss it. Trish

One more broken record, definitely the longer one, Iceland's supposed to be gorgeous, we're doing Celebrity's 14 nighter Iceland and fjords this July.

We are thinking of doing this cruise but have never cruised on Celebrity or done this area of the world. Sounds reassuring that so many advise to do this. We were looking at this sailing.

Any advice on the excursions. I like a little free time walking in old towns: is that possible? When we did the Baltics, we loved Talinn on our own.

Our 14 nighter on Eclipse this July goes to 4 ports in Norway, including Bergen, Flam & Geiranger, said to be some of the top Norwegian ports. Just checked the schedule for the Aug 4 sailing next year and it has the same ports as the ones this year, so how do you say your cruise goes to only 2 ports in Norway?!

Eclipse, Aug 4, 2013 sailing: "Departing from Southampton, England; Reykjavik, Iceland; Akureyri, Iceland; Klaksvik, Faroe Islands; Geiranger, Norway; Olden, Norway; Flam, Norway; Bergen, Norway; Southampton, England"

Our 14 nighter on Eclipse this July goes to 4 ports in Norway, including Bergen, Flam & Geiranger, said to be some of the top Norwegian ports. Just checked the schedule for the Aug 4 sailing next year and it has the same ports as the ones this year, so how do you say your cruise goes to only 2 ports in Norway?!

 

Eclipse, Aug 4, 2013 sailing: "Departing from Southampton, England; Reykjavik, Iceland; Akureyri, Iceland; Klaksvik, Faroe Islands; Geiranger, Norway; Olden, Norway; Flam, Norway; Bergen, Norway; Southampton, England"

Close...

It is the August 4, 2012 sailing that is identical to our July 7 sailing...

But the August 3, 2013 is very similar:

Day 1 Southampton, England 4:30 PM

Day 2 At Sea

Day 3 At Sea

Day 4 Reykjavik, Iceland Docked 1:00 PM

Day 5 Reykjavik, Iceland Docked 2:00 PM

Day 6 Akureyri, Iceland Docked 9:00 AM 7:00 PM

Day 7 At Sea

Day 8 Klaksvik, Faroe Islands Docked 7:00 AM 4:00 PM

Day 9 At Sea

Day 10 Geiranger, Norway Tendered 11:00 AM 7:00 PM

Day 11 Alesund, Norway Docked 8:00 AM 5:00 PM

Day 12 Olden, Norway Docked 8:00 AM 5:00 PM

Day 13 Stavanger, Norway Docked 8:00 AM 5:00 PM

Day 14 At Sea

Day 15 Southampton, England 5:30 AM

...differences being Alesund, Olden and Stavanger rather than Molde, Flam and Bergen...Still four ports in Norway plus the three days in Iceland and one in the Faroes...

You should take the longer tour which includes Iceland. Highlights mentioned before are The Blue Lagoon and The Golden Circle, which you can do from Reykjavík. The other port in Iceland is Akureyri, North Iceland. The options there are even more interesting including the lovely town of Akureyri, the Lake Mývatn area, Dettifoss (the most powerful waterfall in Europe) AND The Nature Baths, which are similar to The Blue Lagoon, only less commercial. If you are interested, I can point out some local tour operators for many different kind of tours from Akureyri. :)

We are considering a cruise including Iceland as well as the Norway Fjords. One cruise only does Norway for an 8 day cruise and the other is an 11 day cruise including two ports in Iceland. Both are about the same price. Any comments? Trish

We are in Iceland right now, after an NCL cruise terminating in Copenhagen. The most reasonable tour operator, and they have small groups, is bustravel. They will come and get you anywhere. We are from Florida, so swimming is no big deal for us. But I would not miss Blue Lagoon. The Golden Circle is breathtaking, if I could choose only one, it would be tough. Blue Lagoon for the experience and relaxation, Golden Circle for education that is almost a religious experience.

I'll jump in here. If you haven't decided yet, repeat: Do Iceland! It was fantastic. We took a 16 day Crystal cruise that was transatlantic starting in NYC and ending in Dover. It was called The New World to Norway and included two stops in Iceland and three in Norway. We've been to the Norwegian Fjords before and you won't be disappointed no matter which ports you stop in although Geiringer is my favorite. Here are links to my blog posts from this trip and the one before:

Iceland posts

Norway posts

Enjoy!!